Sectional refrigerator car



June 7 1927. A. H. SMITH ET AL SEGTIONAL REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed Oct. 5, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 Sheets-Sheet gnw'nfou A. H. SMITH ET AL SECTIONAL REFRIGERATOR CAR Fil ed Oct. 3, '1922 June 7, 1927.

W aw June 7,1927.

A. H. SMITH ET AL SECTIONAL nnr'nxennuon CAR Filed Oct. 5; 1922 4 Sheets-Sfieet 4 Quinn! 01/ ceiving stations in k uices,

Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED E. SMITH, OF CHAPPAQUA, AND EDWARD G. MINER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK; SAID MINER ASSIGNOR TO PFLAUDLER COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW

YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SEOTIONAL REFRIGERATOR CAR.

Application filed. October 3, 1922, Serial No. 592,144, and in Canada August 17, 1922.

The object of our invention is to provide a plurality of containers adapted to be secured to and removed from a railroad car or other vehicle without impairing the security and stability of the-remaining containers on the car or vehicle, each container being so con structed that it may be filled at the poinfi'of loading, lifted by a crane to the car, transported thereon, and at destination lifted to a motor truck or delivered to a bottling house where the container may be emptied into small receptacles for delivery, thus providing a more economical handling of liquid.

It is fairly well settled now that there is a demand for some form of bulk transportation for milk to displace the present small unit system.

In the majority of cases, the large milk dealers gather their supply from diiferent stations along the route, and at none of these stations is there sufiicient milk to fill one of the big cars. Containers are placed at rethe country and filled, and trains and loaded into y and delivered to the the large are then picked up b place on-the car quic motor truck or milk companies in cities.

According to our invention, these containerswill be lifted from the car at the terminal and placed on the milk companies trucks for movement tributing plants, thus eliminating the bandling of a large number. of small units as is now the case.

A further object of our invention is to provide these shipping tanks or receptacles with a suitable covering of insulation to substantially maintain a given temperature for the milk while in the receptacle.

While we have specially mentioned milk, it will, of course, be understood that fruit high grade dyes and the like may be shipped in these receptacles.

Our invention consists in a shipping container, having top, bottom and side walls, suitable insulation between said walls, and a receptacle fixedly secured within said container, an inlet and an outlet for said receptacle, ports in the walls of said container registering the said inlet and outlet, and with this and other objects in view, our mvention consists of the parts and combinato their Pasteurizing and dis tion of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

I n the draimmgs.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railroad car on which are arranged a series of the refrigerator units,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of Figure 1, a portion of the car being broken away,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the units partly in section, and

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of one of the units, partly in section.

The reference numeral 1 designates the railroad car or other carrier of suitable construction, and 2 designates the detachable refrigerator units arranged transversely thereon, which are adapted to receive milk, and other liquid for transportation in bulk.

The car is preferably provided with suitable side and end walls, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, the side walls being provided with vertically disposed guides 6. The units are provided with locking members 7 which are adapted to engage the guides 6 on the car,

whereby the units are locked against shifting and rocking on the car while in transit. These locking members are beveled in two directions toward their bottom edge, whereby the units are centered on the car as they are lowered onto the car by reason of the bevels engaging the abutments and guides, as will be readily By reason or more of the units may be removed from the car without impairing the stability or safety of the remaining units, and besides which, as will be ointed out, the outlet of each unit is back 0? side wall, when on the carrier, therefore, the outlet contents of the unit cannot be manipulated, thereby preventing unauthorized removal of the contents of the unit.

Each container is provided with wall braces 8 and 8, a lifting plate 9, secured to the wall and said braces, and a hook or loop 10 adapted to be engaged by a crane whereby the units may onto the carrier. The brace 8 is attached to the bottom sill of the container.

understood from the drawings.. of the guides and side walls, one

an abutment, such as the be readily lifted from or While the walls of the unit maybe of any suitable construction, we prefer to form them on a suitable framing of timbers 11 connected at the bottom by sills 12 and at the top by carlines 13, which sills and carlines are provided with saddles or seats adapted to fit snugly that portionof the wall of the tank 13 which comes in contact therewith; the tank being securely held in position against shifting in the unit by means of the straps 14, the ends of which are securely fastened to the underfranie of the unit by means of the shackle 15.

We will refer to the unit as a container and to the tank as a receptacle in the claims.

The unit, or container, is provided with a man hole at the top, which is lined on the inside by means of two of the carlines 15, and a superposed wooden lining '16 which has an undercut 17 under which is secured a suitable insulation 18, such for instance, as hair felt, and the lower edge of which rests on the top edge of the plate 19 which is welded to the tank or receptacle 1-3. The outer face of the lining piece 16 is beveled to provide a wedging seat for the plug 20 for the manhole, said plug being provlded with lifting handles 21. 22 is a cover of suitable construction for the manhole, hinged at 23 and having a suitable hasp lock or other connection 24.

The walls of the unit or container are double walls having a suitable insulation, such as cork, packed between them, our preference being to make the outer face of the walls of any suitable insulating material.

The tank or receptacle 13 may be made of any suitable material so long as it is liquid proof, but we prefer to make it of metal, and it may be provided with a noncorrosive lining as indicated at 25.

This tank or receptacle is provided with an inlet 26 in alignment with the manhole of the container or unit, the inlet'having a suitable upstanding collar with an outwardl extending flange 27, there being a suitab e filling 28 such for instance as Sargo, on top of the tanksloping from the collar 26 toward the plate 19, to provide drainage from the collar of any liquid which ma splash outside of the collar, which liquid is drained off by means of the drain pipe 29 leading outside of the unit. There is a suitable insulation 30 between the tank and drain pipe as shown in Fig. 4, a portion only of the insulation being seen in Fig. 4, inasmuch as the strap 14 obscured the remainder.

The inlet of the tank or receptacle is provided with a cover 31 which is secured thereto by means of the bolts 32, the cover being provided with lifting handles 33. v

. The tank or receptacle 13' is provided at the bottom with a screw threaded outlet 34, to which a hose, or other suitable conveyor 111% be attached, whereby the contents of the ta may be removed. llt will be noted that a suitable plate 35 is positioned at this end of the tank around the opening of the outlet and with a suitable flashing 36, constitutes a housing, which is formed between the end wall of the unit and the tank, which housing is closed at its open end by means of the insulated door or cover 37, in the end wall of the unit.

By reason of such housing the spaces between the end wall and the outlet is kept free from dirt, and other foreign matter, and, at the same time the space in the housing provides insulation.

Of course, it will be understood that the outlet 34 is provided with a cover 38. This outlet is protected by the door 37, which is provided with a suitable lock 40 and hinges 89. While we have shown a specified construction for the purpose of illustrating our invention, it will be understood that changes may be made therein, and a difi'erent construction selected within the scope of the appended claims.

As is well known, milk and the like, is now handled in metallic cans, and it is necessary to handle each can individually a number of times between the producer and theconsumer, besides which these cans are easily damaged, and frequently become lost, which increases the cost of the milk to the consumer. A plurality of cans of the capacity of one of our improved receptacles or tanks would take up a larger amountof space on a railroad car than one of the tanks.

What We claim is:

1. A shipping container having spaced to bottom, end and side walls, suitable insuation between said spaced walls, a man hole in one of said walls and a cover for the same, a receptacle fixedly secured within said container, an inlet for said receptacle registering with said man hole, an outlet for said receptacle, a port in a wall of the container registering with said outlet, and a cover for the inlet port of the receptacle.

2. A shipping container having spaced top, bottom, end and side walls, insulation between said walls, ports in the top and end walls of the container, insulated covers for said ports, means for locking said covers in said ports, a receptacle mounted within said container and provided with a man hole inlet and with an outlet, a cover for the man hole of the receptacle and means to lock it in place, a cover for the outlet, and means to lock said man hole cover in closed position, suitable means to control the outlet of said receptacle, and straps positioned over the receptacle and anchored to the container, and saddle blocks secured to the container and resting snugly against the top wall of the container.

3. A. shipping container having spaced top, bottom, end and side walls, insulation on said man hole, a receptacle mounted With-t in said container, and provided with a man hole inlet, and with an outlet, a cover for the man hole inlet of the receptacle, and means to lock said covers in closed position, suitable means to control the outlet of said receptacle, and straps positioned over the receptacle and anchored to the container and saddle blocks secured to the container an resting snugly against the top wall of the receptacle, and lifting ears secured near each corner of the container and locking elements on each end of the container.

4. A shipping container having spaced top, bottom, end and side walls, insulation between said walls, inlet and outlet ports in the top and end walls of the container, in-

insulated blocks for sulated blocks forsaid ports, means for looking said blocks in the inlet and outlet and a receptacle mounted within said container and provided with aninlet and an outlet, a cover for the inlet of the receptacle, and means to lock it in place, suitable means to control the outlet of said receptacle, and straps positioned over the receptacle and anchored to the container, and saddle blocks secured to the container and resting snugly against the top wall of the receptacle, and lifting ears secured near each corner of the container, and locking means on the exterior face of two diametrically opposite walls of the container for locking said container on a vehicle.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signa tures.

ALFRED H. SMITH. EDWARD G. MINER. 

